The downloadable dictionary includes 40,000 words, a pronunciation guide, an abbreviation guide, and a Handbook of Style - and works on your media player.

The downloadable dictionary includes 40,000 words and their definitions, a pronunciation guide, an abbreviation guide, and a Handbook of Style.

"Merriam-Webster is pleased to work with iPREPpress to offer our dictionaries and thesauruses to iPod users," said James Withgott, vice president and associate publisher at Merriam-Webster.

Under the partnership, the companies will produce a series of portable references for the iPod over the next two months including: Merriam-Webster's Pocket Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster's Rhyming Dictionary for song and hip-hop writers, Merriam-Webster's Pocket Atlas, and The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Quotations.

The debut product features simple scroll-and-click navigation to search for over 40,000 words and their definitions. Users search for words on the iPod through a hierarchical menu and hyperlinked structure.

Merriam-Webster's Pocket Dictionary is available for download now. It costs $14.95 but is currently available at an introductory price of $9.95.